(A Committee of Correspondence)

22 June 2012

The Trade Schools of Virginia?

Does anyone have any thoughts on the U. Va crisis? I notice that every single member of the university's Board of Visitors is a business person. This is true whether the member was appointed by Kaine or McDonnell. What is happening at Chrlottesville appears to be part of a state wide effort to convert the state's many fine colleges and universities into trade schools to support industry and the business community generally. The process has had a certain elegant simplicity Wealthy business people give a lot of money. They then are appointed to governing boards. Afer that they begin to agitate for "pragmatic" reforms. This generally means attacks on the Humanities. These are deemed to be "dreaming of the past" rather than studies in which critical, independent thinking is nurtured and fed on the experence of mankind. .English departments are converted into institutions that de-emphasize literature and teach rhetoric (reading, writing and public speaking). History and Philosophy are marginalized. If such desiderata are fulfilled, then the money continues to flow in. In short the business community and the moneyed class are buying the universities just as the same people are buying political power with the help of the Citizen's United SCOTUS decision.

This is part and parcel of the ongoing barbarizing of America. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects are the tocsins of this process plus anything taught in the Business Schools.

Well, the Nazis were good at STEM subjects. So were the Soviets. Are American universities destined to become enablers of wealthy barbarians?

Comments

The Trade Schools of Virginia?

Does anyone have any thoughts on the U. Va crisis? I notice that every single member of the university's Board of Visitors is a business person. This is true whether the member was appointed by Kaine or McDonnell. What is happening at Chrlottesville appears to be part of a state wide effort to convert the state's many fine colleges and universities into trade schools to support industry and the business community generally. The process has had a certain elegant simplicity Wealthy business people give a lot of money. They then are appointed to governing boards. Afer that they begin to agitate for "pragmatic" reforms. This generally means attacks on the Humanities. These are deemed to be "dreaming of the past" rather than studies in which critical, independent thinking is nurtured and fed on the experence of mankind. .English departments are converted into institutions that de-emphasize literature and teach rhetoric (reading, writing and public speaking). History and Philosophy are marginalized. If such desiderata are fulfilled, then the money continues to flow in. In short the business community and the moneyed class are buying the universities just as the same people are buying political power with the help of the Citizen's United SCOTUS decision.

This is part and parcel of the ongoing barbarizing of America. Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects are the tocsins of this process plus anything taught in the Business Schools.

Well, the Nazis were good at STEM subjects. So were the Soviets. Are American universities destined to become enablers of wealthy barbarians?